Chosen Families
by whiteraven1606
Summary: Even though the three of them weren't related, looking alike hadn't ever really been a problem for Aaron, Clint, and William. Well, that is until Jason Bourne's existence causes Aaron Cross to have a crappy week. (Crossover of Avengers, Bourne Legacy, and Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol.) EDIT: Adding two more chapters for a total of three chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is a crossover between The Avengers, Bourne Legacy, and Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol.**

**This assumes you've seen at least Bourne Ultimatum and Legacy, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, Iron Man/IM2, The Coulson short On the Way to Thor's Hammer, and The Avengers.**

**Timeline wise we are in the middle of Legacy, before Iron Man, and after Brandt is the protection detail for Ethan and his wife when starting this fic.**

* * *

Coulson glared at the intel report on the death at Waterloo Station and the related operations. He hurried down the hallway, younger agents scattering to get out of his way. He stuck his head into Fury's office. "Sir, we have a situation. We need to bring Barton in."

Fury didn't look up from the papers in front of him. "He's in the middle of a operation we've been working on for three years, Coulson. You know that."

"Jason Bourne is alive."

Fury's head snapped up. "How bad is it?"

"Indications are shaping up to a total burn, sir." Coulson stepped inside the office completely and pulled the door closed. "It appears Kenneth Kitsom isn't dead and is one of the operatives for a project connected to Treadstone."

Fury's nose wrinkled as he cursed under his breath. "Do we know where the IMF has Brandt right now?"

"On extended retraining due to that near miss with the lost protection detail eight months ago."

"Pull in Barton." Fury looked up. "Find out how much is going to burn. We will try to pick up anything that survives."

"Sure thing, Boss." Coulson hauled ass down the hall and made a mental note to check the surveillance for some decent facial expression captures of the younger agents' reactions to him hurrying.

* * *

Clint Barton sighed as he limped off the quinjet and handed Coulson his go bag. "What the hell went wrong? We were almost in, Coulson."

Coulson frowned and handed him a file. "Jason Bourne isn't dead."

"Duh." Clint narrowed his eyes at the amount of classified tape adorning the file in his hands. "I could have told you that when they didn't find a body in Moscow." He flicked open the file and stared. "Oh." Clint looked up at Coulson. "I thought Kenneth died in a hit on his convoy."

"So did I." Coulson took the file back from Clint's numb fingers. "We were attributing the signal ghosts on facial recognition to Brandt."

"Has someone told him yet."

"He's in retraining."

Clint snorted. "Of course, he is." He scrubbed his hand through his hair. "Well? Can we get Kenneth out of this thing? He's not exactly the sort of person you just want to hand to a rogue agency."

Coulson held the door for Clint as they headed deeper into the Hellicarrier. "He's been in there for years, Clint. I finally got ahold of his entire file just before you landed. They altered him."

Clint stripped down and stepped into a shower stall as Coulson started to layout clean clothes for him. "Altered, how exactly?"

"He has a whole new identity."

"Well, considering he's supposed to be dead and all, I figured that much."

"Barton."

Clint grimaced as he scrubbed the sand out of his hair. "Sorry, Phil."

"He's being called Aaron Cross. From what medical can make of the virology it looks like they gave him a better uptake of oxygen and more intelligence."

"So, we're talking Super Soldier stuff?"

"Something like it." Coulson handed Clint a towel as he emerged from the shower. "We need to keep you in until we're sure they aren't hunting him any longer."

"I'm not going to just sit by while they kill him." Clint dragged his shirt on and pulled up his pants as Phil sat down beside him. "Don't tell me I have to, Phil. Please."

"He may not even remember you."

Clint shrugged. "So? We'll have new conversations. I don't care. He was a nice kid that they never should have allowed to drive a Humvee, okay? Just because he's smarter now doesn't mean he deserves to have his own agency hunt him down. He's not even compromised."

"Okay." Phil stood up. "Let's see if we can track him down without getting him killed, shall we?"

With a grin, Clint shoved his feet into his boots for base use only. "Let's go root for the underdog."

* * *

William frowned at the television coverage for the fifth time that day. "This isn't right." He looked around at the other anylists-in-training's blank faces and then back at the news. "This isn't an isolated incident."

There was a knock on the door of their classroom and the deputy head of intel stuck her head in the room. "Brandt. Come with me, please."

William glanced at the coverage one more time before following along. Something was seriously wrong.

* * *

Aaron didn't breathe easy until they were in a tiny beach hut in the middle of who-the-hell-knows and under the cover of a very thick canopy of trees with a nice cave system behind them he'd be exploring as soon as his thigh healed up. "You okay, Doc?"

Marta looked up from the maps she had spread in front of her. "I'm aright." She smiled at him. "Sore."

He leaned his head back on the pillow she'd stuffed under his head a little while ago. "Yeah. That'll get worse."

Her smiled widened. "You'd know." She lost her smile and looked down at the maps in front of herself. "I can't even let my sister have a clue I'm alive, can I?"

"Unless it is a clue you know that only she'd understand coming from a postcard, no, Doc."

"I'll think about it." She came over and sat next to his hip on the bed. "Your head feeling okay?"

He blinked up at the ceiling. "Yeah, actually. I'm not feeling dizzy or anything. Just like I took a blue pill an hour or two ago. Only it doesn't seem to be wearing down."

"That's good." She grinned. "I don't think we could go back to the factory."

"No." He patted her on the forearm. "Lay down. You'll sleep if you hold still for a little while."

She snuggled in against his side. "I killed a man."

"Don't worry about it, Doc. It was either him or us." He closed his eyes as he vowed to himself not to put her into a position to have to kill if it wasn't the last resort. "It could have been lots worse." He fell asleep with her breathing ghosting over his chest.

* * *

Phillip Coulson stepped off the fishing trawler onto the beach of a tiny island in the middle of nothing. He smiled at the woman peering at him from around the doorjamb of the little hut. "I'm not here to kill anyone." He kept his empty hands spread and stepped up onto the beach so the lapping water didn't get his pant legs wet. "I'm Agent Coulson and I need to speak to Kenneth."

She leaned her head out a little more. "And I'm just supposed to say sure, I'll go get him, is that it?"

Phil smiled. "No. You're supposed to tell me you don't know anyone named Kenneth." He settled on the log in front of their porch and lifted his sunglasses from his face. "Ma'am, I don't work for any of the programs that were burning Outcome. The only reason I even noticed is that Mr. Cross bears a remarkable resemblance to one of my operatives. And by remarkable I mean they could pass for twins."

Her eyes widened. "Twins?"

He gave her credit for not glancing up and left to Aaron's position in the trees. "They aren't actually related. None of the three of them, but they all look enough alike to give even the best facial recognition programs hissy fits."

"You said another man. Not two." She edged out a little further.

"The other one isn't my operative. He is with IMF."

"They are crazy motherfuckers." Aaron dropped down from his tree, but stayed back with his handgun trained on Phil. "You don't seem worried."

Phil smiled a little. "I'm not worried."

Marta moved into the doorway fully. "Why aren't you worried?"

Phil clasped his hands in his lap and crossed his feet at the ankles. "Mr. Cross won't kill me until he has at least heard what I have to say."

Aaron glared at him. "Quit calling me Mr. Cross. You know my original name?"

"Kenneth Kitsom, yes. We met once. The first time your face ticked off our facial recognition programing. You were very nice. Worried I was going to give you a test, if I remember right. I wasn't really. Just trying to figure out whither you were my operative with a bad concussion." Phil shrugged. "You weren't, obviously. Until last week I thought you had died a couple of months later when your convoy was hit by a roadside bomb."

"Which alphabet soup agency are you from?"

"SHEILD." Phil smiled at Aaron's grimace. "It stands for a terribly long name you don't really care about knowing."

Marta looked around the shoreline. "How did you find us?"

"I asked my two best operatives where they'd go. The only place we all agreed on was this area." Phil lifted his chin at the trees Aaron was still standing under. "Neither of you have made a mistake. The satellites show trees and more trees."

Aaron let out a long stream of air. "Okay. Why are you here?"

"Job offer."

Marta's eyebrows climbed her forehead. "Are you serious?" She cocked her head and turned towards Aaron. "Did I smack my head during the motorcycle crash? I'm hallucinating, right?"

Aaron held up his hand and cocked his head as he looked up and out at the water. "Do you hear that?"

Phil turned his head. "You are early, Barton."

The quinjet dropped the cloaking as it eased closer to the water level, causing the water to start spreading out away from the downdraft. Barton leaned out.

"Sorry, sir. 'Tasha thought you needed a visual aid."

Phil rolled his eyes. "I was doing fine."

Barton waved at Marta, who while continuing to stare with her mouth open, absently waved back. "Satellites comes up in three minutes, sir. Figured you'd want the minimal cross-section we give off out of Cross' airspace before that."

Aaron stepped sideways a step and blinked. "You look..."

Barton grinned. "Oh, yeah. We're totally redoing every conversation, aren't we? Cool." He turned his head. "Down a little more, 'Tasha."

"You want to come fly this thing?"

Phil stepped up onto the open tail ramp. "No, Barton is not going to fly this time."

"Awww, Coulson. I promise not to scratch it."

Phil glared at him. "That's what you said before you dropped one into a mountainside."

Barton turned back towards Aaron and Marta. "In my own defense, it was really important I crashed."

"Oh, yes. A bet, wasn't it?"

"Well, you did say no one had ever skimmed the trees like that, sir."

Phil rolled his eyes. "They still haven't." He gestured to Aaron and Marta. "Coming?" He watched as they exchanged looks before Marta came closer and Aaron disappeared into their little hut.

"What sort of job offer?" She was watching them carefully.

Barton settled down on the side bench. "Nothing you can publish, Doctor."

She smiled. "Well, I didn't expect that."

Aaron reappeared and threw a bag up into the quinjet before helping Marta aboard. "Are we related?"

Barton stuck out his hand towards Marta. "DNA says no. Ma'am, I'm Clint Barton."

She shook and tilted her head to look at him closely. "Marta. You've got a scar along your jawline Aaron doesn't have."

Barton smiled. "We aren't clones, Doc."

She blinked. "Wow. You sound alike though."

Aaron shook hands when Barton shifted towards him. "You knew me?"

"Only for a little while before you didn't actually die like we thought, yeah." He leaned back as the quinjet banked into a turn. "You look good for a dead guy."

Aaron's smile flashed across his face and disappeared again. "Thanks."

* * *

William Brandt dropped another operative and then grabbed the leader guy by the throat. "I don't know who you think I am, but I am _not_. Trying to kill me isn't going to get you anywhere."

The guy struggled to breathe as William shoved him higher up the wall. He turned his head in William's hold just enough to choke out, "How did you get back into the country?"

William slammed the guy into the wall again. "I haven't left the country in months. If you are after someone that looks like me I think we need to discuss inter-agency protocols again."

The guy blinked and his face changed. "You aren't Aaron Cross?"

"Who?" Brandt let the guy's feet touch the floor. "Who is that?"

"A rogue element." The guy put his hands up slowly. "I'm Eric Bryer. I'm sorry we mistook you for someone else."

William sighed. "Wouldn't be the first time." He watched Bryer stare at him for several minutes. "Decided yet if you are going to still try to have me killed?"

Bryer shook his head. "Trying to figure out what agency trained you."

William huffed. "If you don't know, you aren't cleared high enough to learn it."

Bryer bristled and rubbed at his neck. "I have one of the highest clearances in the country."

"Not high enough. Figure out where your rogue went because I'm not him." William headed out of the building and slipped into the subway tunnels at the first entrance. He jogged along the tracks until he hit an emergency escape door. Through that he followed a service tunnel for a while until he came up on an unmarked door. Fingerprints and a rental scan later, William settled into the tiny safe room and started gathering intel on why someone had pulled him from training just to try to kill him.

* * *

Natasha Romanoff smiled sweetly at the nervous lady doctor that the Clint-look-alike was attached to. They worked their way through the bowels of the Hellicarrier to medical. "Shouldn't be long."

The Clint-look-alike, Aaron, she needed to call him by the name he answered to, kept her in his line of sight and Natasha tried not to make him more tense than he already was.

"Who trained you?"

She ushered them into medical and made sure to keep Aaron in between herself and Dr. Shearing. "People you never want to meet."

Barton stomped past them with Coulson herding him along. "I hate medical."

Natasha settled on the end of the bed Barton sprawled on. "We all know that, Clint."

"Just restating for the newcomers."

She glanced at Aaron sitting stiffly on the edge of the bed with Marta. "You aren't helping."

Clint turned his head towards Aaron and sighed. "Calm down. They'll just take a blood prick for the DNA. Right, Coulson?"

Coulson looked up from the phone he was texting on. "For now. If Aaron comes down with another fever then the vultures will descend."

The doctor in the doorway lifted an eyebrow. "Vultures prefer dead things, Agent Coulson, whereas I would rather see you all live." He eyed Clint. "Well, maybe not in Hawkeye's case."

Natasha covered her mouth as Clint flipped off the doctor without lifting his head to see where to aim his hand gesture.

* * *

William stared at the mess on his screens. "You have got to be kidding me." He tapped another file up and looked over the information on one Aaron Cross. "Fuck me. Kenneth, you crazy man." He scrolled through the various reports on the increases in Kenneth's baselines as he became Aaron Cross. Then on to the kill files showing how very good an assassin Aaron Cross was.

After that, William clicked through the various files on the other eight Outcome operatives. There was more that William knew he couldn't get at because it would all be paper and IMF wouldn't have needed it for anything so they wouldn't have acquired the paper files. He pushed away from the small desk and looked through the safe room's small amount of clothing. He was going to need to move.

He left the safe room in jeans and a dark hoodie. He felt like Ethan Hunt. The golden boy had a thing for hoodies. William frowned as he took the metro up-line. He got off and caught a bus into New York. After that, William dropped back down into the subways and found another safe room. He started to approach it when he felt something. He stopped and listened carefully.

William turned his head to check down the next access tunnel and stared. "You are shitting me."

The guy leaning against the wall blinked at him. "No? Should I be?"

William shook his head. "You are a pain in the ass, Bourne." He put his finger to the reader and turned his head to see Jason staring at him like he'd been hit with a bat. "Yes, I know who you are. No, I'm not going to kill you." He turned back to run the retinal scan and then gestured at the door. "Wanna come in?"

Jason limped forward, dripping all over the place. "Why should I trust you?"

"Since you becoming high profile just got me nearly killed, let's go with I'm not inclined to give a damn either way right now." William went first and settled on a chair at a beat up desk. "Treadstone was just one of several program names." He pulled up Outcome as Jason closed the door and looked around.

"Okay."

"Here." William leaned sideways so Jason could see a picture of Aaron Cross. "I'm not him. We just look alike."

Jason leaned in and narrowed his eyes at the screen. "A lot alike."

"Yeah." William turned and pulled a towel from the cupboard to the left. Everything was in the same place in these little rooms. "There's clothes in that one over there."

Jason turned towards the clothing. "I'm getting them all killed."

"Pretty much." William opened a secure line to the only person he was going to trust to tell him when it was safe to come out. "Not that it is really your fault."

Jason pulled on a dry sweater. "I'm the one that screwed up in the first place."

"Well, from what I've read, they could have just left you be once they figured out you weren't going to kill people willy nilly."

Jason looked at him. "What agency are you?"

"IMF." William grimaced as the computer told him to wait as it tried to sync up for encryption. "More insane missions with less assassinations."

"Okay." Jason sat on the floor in the corner and sighed. "I'm tired."

"Sleep if you want." William rubbed his ear. "I'm going to be busy following this for a while."

"Hmm." Jason was mostly asleep as William talked. "Don't touch me to wake me."

"I'll talk you awake. No problem, Jason." William half-turned to watch Jason sleep until his call connected and he got Coulson's voicemail. "Of course." William left a message saying when he'd call again.

* * *

After getting Aaron and Marta into a room at the end of the hall between Clint and Natasha, Phil finally got a chance to check his voicemail. He blinked as he listened to the messages from Brandt. The next time he'd given was in a half hour. Phil made his way to his office and fussed with the paperwork to add Aaron on in a consultant position until his phone rang.

"Coulson."

"Finally." William sounded stressed. "I have a situation."

"Are you injured?" Coulson pulled up his computer to give him imaging for whatever location William would give him.

"No, but my roommate is."

"What?" Coulson listened as William explained that he was in a safe room in New York. "You have _him_?" Coulson wasn't about to use that man's name on a line. Any line, no matter the supposed encryption.

"Ah. Yeah, if we're talking the same man." William sighed. "I need an extraction and I can't ask IMF right now because I was pulled from training and nearly killed because I _look_ like someone."

"Give me two hours."

* * *

Clint kept the baseball hat pulled down tight. He watched the edge of the platform and moved forward as William boosted fucking _Jason Bourne_ onto the platform. Clint checked that 'Tasha had them covered as he bent down to catch William's hand. "Howdy."

"I hate you."

Clint grinned and wiggled his eyebrows at Jason, who was frowning. "He doesn't hate me. He loves me."

William brushed himself off. "You dream, Barton. Keep dreaming." He took the jacket Clint passed him and he and Jason traded hats. 'Tasha turned towards them as they approached and Clint was going to give her crap for the double blink for weeks.

She wrapped her arm in Jason's and leaned into him like she was drunk. "Just so you know, you ever decide to play cat games with the CIA again, I will kill you."

Clint got in on Jason's other side and pulled William against himself, making them all stumble for a step. "She means cat and mouse. And she'd kill you for stealing her fries."

She glared at him through her eyelashes. "They had bacon on them, you asshole."

Clint laughed and slapped both Jason and William on the back as they passed the late night riders coming down the stairs. As soon as they were in the blind spot at the top of the stairs, 'Tasha pulled off her headscarf and dropped her curls around her face. Clint pulled William's hat off and tucked his own into an inner pocket with William's hat.

They turned the corner into the street cameras with Jason's head down like he was feeling poorly. William and Clint tilting their heads down like they were checking on Jason. 'Tasha leading the group with sloppy drunk-seeming steps.

As soon as they were in the SUV, Clint eased them into traffic. 'Tasha cursed as he changed lanes. Clint grinned at Jason's slightly panicked look as Clint pulled them into a parking garage.

William frowned. "We haven't even gone five blocks."

Coulson met them as Clint parked the SUV. They piled out and trooped up three flights of stairs. Coulson ushered them into a small van.

"Mr. Bourne."

Jason cracked an eye open from where he was slumped in the seat he'd taken. "Just call me Jason, alright?"

Coulson smiled as the van pulled out. "Of course...Jason." He gestured at Jason. "Your knee?"

With a shrug, Jason rolled up his pant leg. "Healing up."

Coulson poked at the fading bruising. "Movement?"

"I still have range of motion. Flexing while baring weight isn't ideal."

Clint turned in his seat and watched 'Tasha yell at a car before turning towards Jason. "Hurts like a bitch?"

William frowned and gripped his seatbelt as 'Tasha went through a space with about an inch to spare on each side. Jason braced himself on the side of the van until they were through.

Coulson leaned forward. "Agent Romanoff, getting us into a crash will not reflect well on your record."

Clint smiled as 'Tasha glared at Coulson in the rearview mirror while they were stopped for a light. "You have to admit she's getting better, sir." He grinned at Coulson's look of death aimed his way. "So, Brandt, what are you doing out of the field?"

William tensed up and looked down at his hands. "I can't do it anymore. I'm becoming an analyst."

"The pattern recognition you were taught will help with that."

William looked up sharply at Coulson. "It helps, yes." He tilted his head to the side. "Have they gotten Kenneth?"

Clint braced as 'Tasha took a corner too fast. "Nope. He's Aaron Cross now. Smart as you, I think."

William looked to Coulson. "You don't know?"

"Medical isn't pushing him for anything. He still doesn't like tests."

William smiled. "That hasn't changed then. He remember anything from before?"

Clint shrugged. "Not that I can tell. He didn't remember me."

"He won't remember me either, then. I only met him once. You talked to him more than that."

"Yeah." Clint sighed as 'Tasha pulled into an underground parking garage. "Almost there."

Coulson pulled Jason's pant leg back down. "Anything else, Jason?"

He pressed his hand to his side. "Bullet graze and some issues with my ribs." He looked back and forth between William and Clint. "You aren't Aaron Cross?"

Clint grinned. "Nah. I'm Clint Barton, greatest marksmen in the world." He gestured to William. "He's William Brandt. Aaron Cross used to be Kenneth Kitsom before. We met him when he was Kenneth."

Jason nodded. "Okay." He frowned. "Related?"

William shook his head. "No. None of us are."

"Huh." Jason tensed up as 'Tasha turned off the van.

Coulson got out and they went into an elevator. Clint lunged into his corner as he watched Coulson's back as the man sway slightly to the elevator music. Jason was against the back wall and William on the other side. 'Tasha leaned against Clint's side on their sidewall. Coulson stood in the middle seemingly unconcerned that he was surrounded.

"You could take us all, couldn't you, Coulson?" Clint grinned at William across Coulson's back.

Coulson turned his head towards Clint. "You don't really want to find out, Barton."

"Awww, you know you like me best, sir."

'Tasha rolled her eyes and lead the way out of the elevator towards the quinjet parked on the edge of the structure. "He puts up with you because you can shot anything."

Clint tweaked one of 'Tasha's curls. "You know he likes me for more than that, 'Tasha."

She smiled at him a little as Coulson ignored them all.

* * *

Jason watched the way they flew the plane-like vehicle carefully, just in case he needed to steal one later. Beside him on the bench, William was snoring.

Coulson settled across from him and cocked his head. "Do you need anything?"

Jason glanced over at him. "No." He looked Coulson over. "Thanks, though. What military branch were you?"

"Marine." Coulson nodded to William. "You can sleep, if you need."

"I'm fine." Jason wasn't about to sleep until they were wherever they were going and he'd decided he wasn't going to be killed or locked up.

"Alright." Coulson leaned back and closed his eyes. "It'll be about an hour."

Jason watched him fall asleep within a few minutes. Barton came out of the cockpit and covered both William and Coulson with blankets.

"Why are you helping me?" Jason watched Barton looked at him from the corner of his eye.

Barton eased up from his crouch by William. "You didn't ask to get targeted. We work for SHEILD, expect William, who's IMF." Clint sat down next to Coulson. "SHEILD will only kill you if you are compromised _and_ there's no getting you back. If you want to retire or take a break for kids or whatever it can be arranged."

Jason blinked. "Is dental included?"

Clint smiled and motioned to Coulson. "You'll have to ask Phil when he wakes up."

* * *

Aaron watched the quinjet as everyone came down the back ramp. He stared at two Clints for a minute before he figured out which was Clint and which was the William Brandt they'd told him about. Marta eased around behind Aaron's side as the next man out looked around him in the assessment pattern Aaron used for combat situations.

Coulson came out behind him and Natasha came last, pulling at her curls as she undid a headband.

Aaron stared at Jason Bourne as he stared back. "I never met another of us until Number Three in an Alaskan cabin a few days before a drone bombed us."

Jason's eyes narrowed. "Number Three?"

Aaron shrugged. "He wouldn't tell me his name. He was being punished for falling in love, I think."

Marta peeked around Aaron's side again. "You don't remember me, do you?"

Jason blinked and then shook his head. "Should I?"

"Uhm. Well, I only did your workup twice. You were number one. In the paperwork, I mean."

"Oh." Jason kept staring until Coulson ushered them down the hallway.

* * *

Aaron found that William was slightly faster than Clint, but Clint was a much better marksman than William. Clint was better than Aaron on high wind targets. Give the man a bow and arrow and he could hit anything which irritated Aaron because he needed a sniper rifle for some of the things Clint could do with a bow.

Jason stared at them a lot. Aaron had frowned when Jason wouldn't spar at first, but then they worked out he did things with only muscle memory and Coulson made a program to give him back willful control.

It seemed to help the memory gaps somewhat. Jason would frown when Marta tried to talk to him like he remembered things he didn't actually know. Aaron stepped in more than once to run interference.

After a couple of months, the IMF decided all was well and called Brandt back in. William gave them all hugs and insisted he'd be fine. Aaron worried about him being on the ground until Coulson confirmed that Brandt was being shadowed by Natasha.

Jason sat down next to him one day. "How much to you remember about your life before?"

Aaron looked up from the gun he was cleaning. "Flashes. I know I wasn't as smart. I know I was an Army soldier. I can recite the Army Values. Little things like that."

Jason nodded. "I don't remember anything before. My earliest memory now is joining Treadstone."

Aaron put his hand on Jason's arm. "Who you are now is what matters."

Jason looked at him for a long time.

* * *

Aaron asked to move off the Hellicarrier after five months. He was surprised when Coulson just nodded and said it'd be arranged in a few days.

They were fine for a long time. Aaron helped Marta dye red highlights into her hair. Jason stayed with them, which had surprised Aaron when they'd been put up in this tiny little burg in rural nowhere.

They had _alpacas_ of all things. Aaron smiled as Jason fended off the babies as he crossed the yard. Marta called them inside as the military satellites were due to make a pass. They watched the news as Tony Stark announced he was Iron Man and Coulson was frowning in the background.

Then a month later they watched as the news as Harlem was torn apart by two fighting monster-like things.

Jason looked at Marta. "I'm glad you didn't try that on us."

Marta looked up from the notes she'd been taking. "Banner was an accident."

Aaron looked over at them staring at each other. "Us being stable was an accident too, Doc."

Marta ducked her head. "Sorry."

Aaron went back to watching the coverage. "Not your fault."

Jason patted her on the back. "He's right."

* * *

Barton came to visit them at the first anniversary of their owning a farm. "Looking all domestic."

Aaron looked up from stuffing fiber into a bag. "You could help."

"Nay. I have to go to Budapest with Natasha." He smiled. "Just wanted to check in."

Aaron meant it when he said they were doing fine.

* * *

The next anniversary found them around the television watching Iron Man battle a whip-welding nasty man in the middle of a car race.

Marta sighed as the bad guy stayed down. "He might be rich, but he isn't one of you."

Jason exchanged looks with Aaron over her head.

Three weeks later they got a phone call from Natasha that Coulson would be coming though on his way to New Mexico. Aaron watched Coulson pull up and step out of his car.

Jason came from the barn with this year's babies following eagerly behind.

Coulson accepted a sandwich from Marta as Aaron looked him over.

"You alright?"

Coulson's eyebrows went up. "What makes you think I wouldn't be?"

Jason pointed at Coulson's knee. "Your suit is mussed."

Aaron held his finger and thumb a little apart. "Just a bit."

Coulson frowned slightly as he looked down himself. "I don't have any flour on me, do I?"

Marta gave them all her you-are-being-strange looks. "What are you talking about?"

Coulson took a bite of his sandwich and then told them about stopping for gas the night before.

* * *

Nearly one year after that, Aaron watched as Brandt climbed out of his rental and almost face-planted in their driveway. Jason picked him up and hauled him into the house as Aaron reparked the car out of sight of any flyovers.

Marta kept watch over William as he slept for nearly 36 hours before waking up, muttering about nukes, hunts, and jumping. He used the bathroom and then fell straight back asleep. Jason and Aaron silently agreed to turn on the news.

Marta watched as the pundits argued over what had happened. "So, what was it really?"

Jason looked at the nearly closed door to William's bedroom. "A nuke."

Aaron rubbed his hand over his head. "That was way too close."

A week later, William was mostly human again when he got a call and hugged them all goodbye. Two days after that he was back, laughing and crying at the most random intervals.

Marta looked scared until William managed to explain about losing Hunt's wife on a protection detail.

Jason pulled Aaron outside. "She must be alive."

Aaron nodded. William hadn't laughed or cried like he was doing now even when they'd first met him, which Aaron now knew to be shortly after losing Hunt's wife. "We can't tell him we figured that out, though."

Jason nodded and they wandered back in.

It took a few days for William to settle down and decide to stay with them between what he was calling his crazy-ass-missions-for-that-nutcase-Ethan. The one day Ethan came into town to check on William Aaron nearly had a heart attack before he realized the agent prowl he was seeing was William's Ethan and not someone there to kill him, Jason, or Marta.

Aaron had to admit, Ethan Hunt adapted to a new situation really fast.

William frowned at Ethan as he helped Marta seat their dinner table. "No, Ethan, we aren't related."

Ethan grinned at William. "I figured. He's not in your file." Ethan glanced at Jason, but seemed content to ignore Jason was _that_ Jason.

William rolled his eyes and they sat down for lunch.

Only they didn't get to eat anything because they ended up staring at the news coverage as New York fielded an alien invasion. They watched as Iron Man flew a nuke into the portal. They held their breath until he was caught by the Hulk. Hawkeye ran out of arrows. They even caught a glimpse of Natasha firing a handgun.

* * *

Three days later, Clint showed up on their doorstep with tear tracks running down his face. "I'm responsible."

Aaron gathered him into a hug as Clint started to sob. Marta helped get them to the couch. William settled in on the other side of Clint and held on as the man kept the gut wrenching sobs coming.

Jason held out a warm wet washcloth and Aaron mopped at Clint's face even as he kept sobbing, nearly gasping for air.

Ethan pulled Clint's boots off and settled on the couch as Marta appeared with a syringe. Aaron nodded and they watched Clint's sobs slow as the sedative took hold.

Aaron leaned back and kept Clint against his chest. "Fuck."

William nodded. "I tried Coulson's number, but I'm getting nothing."

Aaron held out his phone. "Try Natasha."

William nodded and stepped out of the room.

Marta frowned as her phone went off. "I'll be right back."

Aaron watched Ethan watching them until Marta came back in the room. "Uhm. Coulson was hurt."

Aaron frowned as Clint squirmed at Coulson's name, he leaned in and caught a mutter of 'dead, my fault' before Clint settled back down. He looked up at Marta. "You sure he's alive?"

"That's what Director Fury said, he said it was need to know and they want me to see if we can heal him up with..." She swallowed. "I don't know, Aaron."

"You need to try, Marta. Take Jason with you. I'll stay here with Clint."

She nodded as William came back in looking grim.

"Nat says Coulson died. Barton was compromised for most of the duration until she got him with a solid blow to the head."

Marta raised her eyebrows at Aaron and he grimaced.

"Fury is lying to someone. Marta, take Jason with you." He looked to William. "Can you get ahold of any of the rest of that group that was with Clint?"

William nodded. "Stark at least will have someone that gives him messages." He wondered out muttering to himself.

Aaron looked up as Ethan approached.

"Let me help you get him onto a bed."

Aaron nodded and they hauled Clint into one of the spare bedrooms. Between them they got him stripped of several knives, his pants, belt, and outer shirt. They tucked him under the covers and Ethan settled into the armchair beside the bed.

"I'll watch him. Go help, Brandt."

Aaron would have protested being ordered around, but he had a damp shirt from Clint's crying and he needed to _do_ something.

* * *

Clint dropped into a natural sleep somewhere around hour seven. He slept through another six hours before flailing awake. Aaron talked to him until Clint abruptly went limp and lay panting at the ceiling.

"Better?"

"No." Clint mopped a hand down his face. "Fuck."

Aaron gently gripped Clint's ankle through the blanket. "Coulson isn't dead."

Clint shot upright. "What?"

"Marta called an hour ago. He'll be bedridden for a while, but he's going to be alright."

Clint blinked. "Oh." He narrowed his eyes and stared at Aaron. "Are you shitting me?"

"No." Aaron squeezed gently. "Would I lie about that to you?"

Clint closed his eyes. "No, I don't think so." He covered his face with his arm. "I...I caused a lot of the damage to the Hellicarrier."

"Jason said it was impressive."

Clint snorted. "Yeah."

Aaron petted Clint's leg through the blanket. "You are going to be okay."

Clint watched him with one eye from under his arm. "Liar."

"Not really." He kept up the repetitive petting until Clint was asleep again.

* * *

Marta came ahead of the stretcher with Coulson on it. "Is Clint alright?"

Aaron shrugged. "He hasn't eaten and it is all we can do to get him to drink water."

Marta blocked Jason from carrying the stretcher down the hallway. "Clint's room."

Jason frowned. "You said Coulson was going down at the end of the hallway."

"Well, that was before I knew Clint is eating himself up with guilt." She pointed. "Now, mush."

Jason rolled his eyes as he maneuvered the stretcher around the corner. "I'm not a dog, Marta."

Natasha smiled at Aaron as she got the other end of the stretcher around the corner. "Aaron."

Aaron tucked her hair back behind her ear to get it out of her eyes. "Better?"

"Yes. Clint got tar on it getting us out of a situation a couple of months ago and I had to cut it off."

He nodded and followed them into the bedroom.

* * *

It took some rearranging to get the second bed up and running as a hospital bed stand-in. Marta fussed with the IV lines for quite a while before she finally sat down and watched Coulson breathe.

Aaron was supporting Clint so he could watch Coulson too. "You need to eat, Clint."

Clint clenched and unclenched his hands. "I'm not hungry."

Natasha made an angry sound from the doorway. "You know the possession made your body ignore signals, Clint. Don't make me force feed you."

Clint closed his eyes and turned his head into Aaron's chest. "No."

Aaron frowned down at Clint's head. "You don't want to worry Coulson, do you?"

Clint took a big sniff and shook his head against Aaron's chest. "No."

"Alright, just a little, okay?"

Clint turned and let Aaron help him sit up.

* * *

A week later, Aaron stared at the flashy car coming down the driveway. Jason watched from the porch near one of the hidden rifles.

The man that stepped out on the driver's side smiled at him. "Wow, Barton, you are looking better than I'd have thought."

The man on the passenger side was staring with his head cocked to one side. "Tony, that's not Barton."

Tony Stark blinked, tilted his head, his eyes narrowed, and then he was striding forward. "Where's Agent Barton? What have you done with him?"

Jason was halfway to the rifle, when Aaron spread his hands, and let Stark get into his space.

"I'm Aaron Cross. I just look like Clint. We aren't related. He's inside. Probably asleep again."

The other man with Stark came and pulled Stark back as he watched both Jason's and Aaron's positions carefully. "Tony, please don't upset them."

Stark glared at them all. "Why the hell do I care, Bruce? Fury has been lying through his swanky smile and Coulson isn't actually dead, but he's also not in a proper fucking hospital. And, now I'm looking at a Clint who's not Clint. I'm not having exactly what you call a good day."

Natasha appeared in the doorway. "Stark, move that car into the barn. Bruce, come check over Barton and Coulson so Stark will accept they will be alright."

Bruce pushed on Tony's shoulder to get him moving back to the car with a grumble about cloaking them from ariel reconnaissance. Aaron followed Bruce into the house and watched from the doorway as he checked over Coulson and then had a quiet conversation with Clint.

* * *

Aaron wasn't sure what surprised him more, that Stark sat the night by Coulson's and Clint's beds or that he knew all sorts of information about alpacas.

Aaron stood with Jason and watched as they loaded Clint and Coulson into a transport Stark had arranged. William and Ethan had made themselves scarce that morning with a promise to come for Sunday dinner. Aaron waved to Natasha as she climbed in beside Clint's stretcher.

"Think Clint will be alright?"

Jason cocked his head as Stark and Banner argued about Stark driving them back. "He'll be fine. He's got a family in them."

Aaron nodded. "He has one here too."

They went inside to join Marta for dinner.


	2. Requested Rescues

Jason stroked one of the baby alpacas as he thought about asking Coulson to check on Nicky. He knew she'd been secure when he'd left her, but that had been years now. He'd tried to check on her a couple of weeks into living on the Hellicarrier, but she'd disappeared in that complete way that told Jason she was moving on her own.

It wasn't that he didn't think she could handle herself. She could. She did. Nicky was smart and while she didn't have the hand-to-hand training she knew how surveillance worked. She knew what to avoid.

Jason sighed and headed into the house. Aaron was still picking through the boxes that had shown up in a Stark Industries truck that morning.

Aaron looked up from the box he was unpacking. "You going to tell us what's bugging you? If we've got to move I need to call Barton and let him know to look after the animals."

Jason shook his head. "No, not anything like that." He looked down in the box between them. "There was someone I left in New York."

Marta came in from the living room and nudged a box out of her way with her foot. "Do we need to go?"

Aaron touched her shoulder. "Nah. Jason is worrying about someone he had to leave behind."

"Oh." She frowned. "You can't find them?"

Jason sat down at the table. "I looked for her once, early on. She'd disappeared by then."

Marta glanced at Aaron, then back at Jason. "It is bothering you, not knowing?"

Jason grimaced and pulled his phone from his pocket. "More so, lately." He frowned at his phone. "I...I like it here." He looked up at both of them. "I just..."

Aaron smiled at him. "You just worry about her because you had to leave her behind."

Jason nodded.

Marta turned and headed out of the room. "I'll go pack. Just in case."

Aaron touched Jason's hair. "Call Coulson. He'll be able to find her without touching off anything the Agency would notice."

Jason grabbed Aaron's wrist and looked up at him. "Thanks."

* * *

Phil Coulson pinched the bridge of his nose. "She's where, exactly?"

Sitwell made a face. "The middle of a bank robbery. She's remarkably calm and is even keeping the rest of the hostages calm."

Coulson nodded. "Of course, she is. Do not call the Ranch." He headed down to Fury's office. He stuck his head in. "Boss, I need permission to put Dr. Banner into a hostage situation."

Fury's head came up fast at that. "You want to what?"

Coulson stepped in and closed the office door behind himself. "The Ranch called this morning and asked me to locate a Nicky Parsons, now calling herself Susie Matthews, who is currently in the middle of a hostage situation at the bank she is working at."

Fury wrinkled his nose. "Do they know she's in danger?"

Coulson shook his head. "No, I haven't called the Ranch to let them know."

Fury glared at him. "You want to drop the Hulk into the middle of that?"

"No, I want to ask Dr. Banner to walk calmly into the bank and remind the hostage takers that if they do not release the hostages that Dr. Banner is quite capable of making them smears on a floor, Boss."

Fury snorted. "Fine. Go ask him."

Coulson smiled. "Thanks, Boss."

* * *

Bruce stared at Coulson. "You want me to _what_?"

Coulson held out a tablet. "The perpetrators have been identified. The last time they did not leave any of the hostages alive."

Bruce frowned down at the tablet. "Why me?"

"One of the hostages used to be Nicky Parsons. She was hidden in New York by Jason before he went on to piss off the entirety of the CIA."

"Oh." Bruce looked up at Coulson. "You don't want them trying to save her."

It hadn't been a question, but Coulson nodded anyway. "If I didn't think the Hulk could be trusted if he does come out, then I would not be asking, Doctor."

Bruce gave Coulson that bashful little smile. "Thanks."

From the doorway of the kitchen Stark grinned wide at them both.

* * *

Nicky kept her coworker pulled in tight against her side as the woman kept sniffling. "We'll be fine."

One of the customers snorted and shook their head. "I saw them on the news."

Nicky would kick him if she was only a little closer. "Be quiet."

The customer ducked their head, but it was too late as Nicky's coworker started to sob again.

From the front of the bank there was a commotion. The lead assailant pushed a floppy haired man into their group.

"Sit down."

The guy didn't move. "I told you not to touch me."

Nicky started pulling everyone close to her away from them. She recognized Dr. Banner from files on the first drugs developed from his version of the Super Soldier serum for Blackbriar.

The leader shoved Banner between the shoulder blades. "I said sit down."

Banner turned his head a little and Nicky could see his eyes flash green. "And I said not to touch me. Making me angry is a bad idea."

Nicky bit her lip and then nodded. "He's the Hulk."

The leader rounded on her to yell, but Banner grabbed him and slammed him down into the floor. He turned on the other two and _snarled_.

Nicky stood her ground as everyone around her scrambled in all directions.

* * *

Nicky stayed still as the _huge_ man that was the Hulk huffed and leaned down to sniff at her hair.

"Yuck."

She smiled tightly. "Hair dye. Sorry."

He rolled his shoulders back and down. "Nick-y?"

She swallowed. She'd been other names, but that was still the name she thought of herself as. "Yes."

"Jason worry."

Nicky bit her lip. "I had to move. I didn't know how to tell him where I was going without other people figuring it out."

Hulk nodded and turned, grinning at the suit that walked in. "Agent."

The agent patted Hulk's arm. "Thank you for helping today, Hulk."

Hulk puffed out his chest and pointed at Nicky. "Nick-y."

The agent smiled softly at her. "Yes, I see that." He looked back up at the Hulk. "Do you want to go outside?"

Hulk shook his head and looked up at the ceiling light he was nearly touching with his hair. "No like flash-flash. Loud."

Nicky stepped closer. "News reporters?"

The agent nodded. "Yes. He doesn't like them even more than Dr. Banner doesn't like reporters." He held his hand out to her. "Agent Coulson of SHEILD."

"SHEILD?" She shook his hand.

"Like the CIA only worldwide and we don't hunt down agents that end up with amnesia."

Nicky blinked. "He is still alive, then?"

Coulson nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

Nicky smiled. "They didn't find a body."

* * *

Bruce normally avoided going to the Ranch. They were all nice enough people, but the automatic tenseness and checking riled him in a way that worried Bruce. Today though he was tired enough from transforming that he didn't really care.

They climbed out of the car as Aaron appeared on the porch. He blinked at them and then smiled wide.

Aaron turned his head and yelled back into the house. "Jason, you should come hug someone!"

Nicky looked at Bruce as she climbed out the car. He smiled back as Jason came to the door.

"Nicky."

She smiled at him and then stared at Aaron. "Oh. Wow."

Marta appeared at Jason's elbow and gave him a little push. "Go on."

Bruce followed Nicky around the end of the car. She stopped next to Aaron and stared at Jason.

"I, uh, I decided you weren't dead when they didn't find a body, but I thought I should keep moving."

He nodded. "You did great."

She smiled as she bit her lip. "You look good."

Aaron rolled his eyes and pulled the screen door open. "He's not going to make the first move for a hug, Nicky. You'll have to punce on him."

Jason glared at Aaron as Nicky slipped in under his arms and wrapped him in a hug. He dropped his head to put his nose in her hair. "Nicky."

She let him cling for a minute and then backed up. "I met the Hulk this afternoon."

Bruce fidgeted as Aaron clapped him on the shoulder. "Yeah, sorry about that."

Nicky smiled as Marta pulled Jason out of the doorway so they could all get into the house. "No, it was good. You warned them and all."

Aaron's eyebrows went up. "The bank robbery? You were there?"

Nicky nodded as she settled on their couch. "I worked as a teller, but now I can't go back."

Coulson leaned against the doorjamb. "Your belongings are being packed up and we'll help you set up in a new location, ma'am."

"Oh." Nicky turned to Jason. "You've made some awesome friends."

Jason smiled at Bruce. "Yes, yes, I have." He touched Nicky's hair. "You are alright?"

She nodded. "I'm fine. I, uhm...I should have told you before. I..."

Jason dropped his hand. "You knew me when I was David Webb."

Nicky sighed. "We were engaged. Then you volunteered for this program and dropped off the face of the Earth. I spent a year getting into the Agency only to meet you and have you just _stare_ right through me."

Marta tucked her hair behind her ear. "He didn't give you any reaction?"

Nicky shook her head. "No, nothing."

Marta nodded. "He was probably in the middle of a migrane."

Jason leaned forward. "Stop." He looked at Marta. "I still get migraines, Marta."

"I know." She frowned. "You probably always will. Sorry, Jason."

Jason shrugged and turned back towards Nicky. "I don't remember."

Nicky shrugged. "I know that." She gestured to Bruce. "Are you alright?"

Bruce looked around at them all. "I...get tense around people that are trained like military."

Coulson smiled a little in the doorway. "Dr. Banner, Jason owes you now. Aaron will back up Jason on any debt, won't you, Aaron?"

Aaron nodded. "I will. We owe you, Doc."

Bruce blinked. "Oh." He relaxed along his shoulders and then turned towards Coulson. "You asked me to go in there on purpose."

Coulson kept a neutral expression. "You were available. Both Barton and Romanoff are on missions. Involving the IMF would only result in injuries to Hunt and probably Brandt as well. The only other agency I could ask for help from is rather busy with the resurrection of their favorite agent."

Bruce pushed up his shirt sleeves. "Right."

* * *

Nicky stared at the Aaron look-alike. "And you are?"

"William Brandt. Coulson asked me to help find you a job. You were an intel analyst with the Agency?"

Nicky nodded. "I helped support field agents like Jason."

William nodded. "Alright. Well, with Benji approved for field duty we really need a support agent that can back him up."

Nicky lifted her chin. "I've not been doing that work in years."

William shrugged. "You stayed low enough that it took Coulson three hours to locate you and he probably wouldn't have found you that fast if you'd not been in the middle of being a hostage. So." He spread his hands. "You are worth the time to retrain you. Plus, Ethan owes Jason a favor."

With a snort, Nicky nodded. "Alright."

William beamed. "Thank you, Nicky."

* * *

Jason herded the babies into the big pen. "Why did you agree to help?"

Bruce closed the gate as the last alpaca went through. "I had a...I know what it is like to worry about them even if you know you don't have a chance with them."

Jason nodded and watched Bruce out of the corner of his eye as they checked off the list of babies they'd just vaccinated.

* * *

Jason went to Coulson. "I want to know something."

Coulson looked up from the paperwork on his desk. "You came clear in just to ask me a question?" He stood and closed his door. "What is the question?"

"Bruce had a significant other at some point."

Coulson blinked and then nodded. "Betty Ross."

Jason nodded. "Where is she?"

Coulson grimaced. "She's not accessible."

Jason raised his eyebrows. "What?"

Coulson sighed. "I've been trying to get an agent into the facility she's been in since just after New York was attacked."

"Where is it?"

Coulson unlocked a drawer and pulled out a file. "Russia. Her father is a General in the US Army and he's partnered with a black ops program in the Russia without permission. He kidnapped her and has everyone in her life thinking she's in a deep cover lab in Bethesda."

Jason thumbed through the file. "Can you get Brandt borrowed from the IMF?"

Coulson smiled. "Are you sure you want to attempt a retrieval? General Ross has the Abomination from the Harlem fight with the Hulk in that same facility."

Jason glanced up at him. "Can you get Barton too, then?"

"Give me five hours."

Jason nodded. "We'll be ready."

* * *

Aaron eyed the man that Jason was approaching carefully.

"Kirill." Jason held out his hand. "I'm happy you lived."

Kirill shook his hand and glanced at Aaron. "Same. Why did you find me if not to kill me?"

Jason lead him over to Aaron. "We're going to retrive a hostage from a compound deep in Siberia."

Kirill blinked. "Just the three of us?"

Aaron nodded towards the quinjet as it decloaked. "Not just us."

As they boarded, Aaron enjoyed Kirill's slight moment of stillness as he looked William over and then the complete stop at the sight of Clint.

Natasha narrowed her eyes at him from her seat by Clint. "You are Kirill."

Kirill nodded. "Romanoff."

She smiled. "This will be fun."

Clint snorted as he lifted off the quintjet. "Right. Fun."

* * *

Aaron watched the compound through his scope. "Three guards. I think the monster is in the big stand alone building on the left."

The comm crackled. "Smells like it. Why am I always downwind?" Clint stopped moving. "Yeah, just saw movement. Monster is definitely in the indicated building."

Kirill and Jason were working their way up to the edge of the fence.

Aaron adjusted his windage. "I haven't seen the package at all."

Natasha's whisper was breathy. "I've cleared the top level. Moving down now."

Jason and Kirill slipped through the fence and along the side of the main building.

Aaron mentally cursed as he shot a guard as he came around the corner. "One guard down."

The noise on the comm went up as they started moving faster, not caring as much about noise now. Aaron took down another guard as Clint shot a third one with one of his arrows.

Natasha huffed. "Found her."

Aaron took out a fourth guard as he came out the door of the main building. Jason and Kirill slipped in through that door.

Natasha made something click. "Ma'am? I'm friends with Bruce Banner."

"Get away from me. I won't..." There was a kick noise and then a frustrated screech sound Aaron assumed was from the package. "...help you trap him!"

Natasha grunted. "Black rose."

Panting, and then a whisper. "Bruce."

"Package and I are moving to the ground floor."

"Roger that." Aaron frowned as the gears to the big blast doors on the stand alone building started to move. "Fuck. Move it! Monster's doors are in motion."

Another flurry of noise.

Jason's voice sounded calm. "No one else is moving. Hello, ma'am."

"Seriously?"

Aaron grinned at the package's tone.

Clint snorted over the line and shot several arrows into the gears of the door. "That should slow it down."

There was fighting noises across the line and then the group was moving out across the compound's yard. Jason was in the lead, Natasha wrapped around the package, and Kirill bring up the rear.

Aaron waited until they hit the trees. "Covered."

"Awesome." Clint detonated one of his arrows in the gears and then they were hauling ass away as the monster rampaged behind them.

Aaron grinned at the angry face of Betty Ross as they climbed into the quintjet. "Ma'am."

She blinked. "Another one? What the hell are you? Clones?"

William rolled his eyes. "Why did I have to guard the jet again?"

Clint climbed past him into the cockpit. "You have the least amount of cold weather training?"

Aaron checked Betty's straps. "Yeah, go with that. Nothing at all to do with Ethan killing us if anything happened to you."

Kirill watched them from beside Jason as the quintjet took off. "Why is she important?"

Jason leaned back and closed his eyes. "I owe Dr. Banner."

Betty gripped her harness. "He's alive?"

Aaron exchanged glances with William before looking at Betty. "Yes, ma'am. You were told differently?"

She nodded. "I didn't want to believe him, of course. Bruce fell from a helicopter and didn't die, but..." She swallowed and shrugged.

Aaron nodded. "He's alive and well. He's working for Tony Stark now."

"Oh." She blinked. "He...sent you?"

William shook his head. "No, we sort of didn't want to worry him. He thinks you are in Bethesda. As do all of the people you used to know."

She blinked. "Oh." Nodding, Betty looked around at all of them. "So, what, I'm a present or something?"

Aaron smiled at her. "I'd call you a pleasant surprise."

She leaned forward and looked towards the cockpit. "How did you know the code words?"

Natasha turned her head. "I told him I'd check on you four days ago. He was a little worried when you didn't call or anything after New York was attacked."

Betty's eyebrows climbed. "Attacked?"

Aaron grimaced. "We'll catch you up, ma'am. No worries."

* * *

Kirill held tight to his harness at the little jet landed directly on top of a tower in New York City. He followed them out as they lead the woman, Betty, down the back ramp. He stayed near Jason, the only person he was certain of out of the group.

Clint lead them in and Kirill swallowed as he followed Jason into the building.

* * *

Bruce was deep in an expriment when Tony showed up at his elbow. "Just a second."

"Bruce."

He looked up because Tony never, ever, used that tone. "What?"

Tony was smiling wide. "Bruce, you need to come up to the penthouse."

Bruce frowned. He didn't like it up there with the dents from the other guy thrashing Loki still in the floor. "Why?"

Tony smiled impossibly wider. "Bruce-y."

Bruce huffed and shut down his work. "Fine." It was always easier just to do what Tony wanted.

Tony kept nearer than normal as they rode the elevator up. Bruce stepped out and looked around at the men sprawled carefully on Tony's couches. Aaron and William next to each other. Clint across from them. Jason and a man Bruce didn't recognize on the other long couch.

Near the window, Natasha was standing next to a short woman...

"Betty." Bruce could feel Tony pressing close as his knees started to give a little.

Betty turned. Her left eye was swollen nearly shut and she smiled wide. "Bruce." She flung herself at him.

Bruce caught her and held her close as she started to sob into his shoulder. He touched her left temple. "Betty?"

She tucked her face into his neck. "Bruce. Bruce, what happened to you?" She roamed her hands over him. "You look different?"

He cupped the back of her head and pressed down the protective urge the injury to her was pulling up in the other guy. "I, uh, got low."

Tony nudged Bruce's shoulder towards the couches. "He means he put a bullet in his mouth and it didn't kill him."

Betty let him herd her. "Hulk saved you?"

Bruce nodded. "He spit out the bullet. He was pretty mad." Bruce settled beside Aaron and let Betty just sort of climb onto him. "Betty, what happened to you? I thought you didn't want..." He stopped as it occurred to him just what it meant for all the ex-agents to be ranged around him in tactical gear. For Natasha and Clint to be suited up. "Oh."

She smiled at him even as she cried. "I'm fine now."

Bruce pulled her to his chest. "Yes." He nodded to Jason. "Thank you." He looked at the rest of them. "Thank you all."

* * *

Kirill looked across the yard at the alpacas. "Animals?"

Jason nodded and pushed him into the house. "Yes. They are usually calming. Don't scare Marta. We have dinner with William and Ethan's team every once in a while."

Aaron smiled at him from a small woman's side. "Marta, this is Kirill."

She smiled. "Hi."

He blinked at her. "Hello." He let Jason nudge him into a seat at the kitchen table.

"Kirill is Treadstone."

Marta nodded. "We didn't do work up on Treadstone except for Jason. I, uh, usually worked with Outcome agents."

Kirill looked up at Aaron. "Next after Treadstone, yes?"

Jason nodded. "Yes."

Kirill nodded. "I know nothing of animals."

Aaron smiled. "You'll learn."

* * *

Nicky froze so fast that Jane ran into her back. "Uh..."

Jason stepped between her and Kirill. "He's fine, Nicky."

She blinked and moved aside so Jane could get inside. "He's supposed to be dead."

Jason shrugged. "So am I."

Nicky nodded at that and followed Ethan on into the house. "Right."

They sat down for dinner. William across from Aaron and Jason and Kirill on the opposite end of the table from Ethan and Jane. Nicky and Benji ended up in the middle with Marta.

Nicky smiled at the ease Jason had with helping Kirill learn new English words that he'd never needed to know before. It was good to see Jason relaxed even a little bit.

Ethan got into a how to kill someone story compaition with Aaron that Kirill and Jason joined in on.

Nicky exchanged looks with Jane and Benji as Marta cocked her head as Jason told them about killing someone with a pen.

Aaron pointed at Marta. "She wins though. She killed one of us with a motorcycle helmet."

Marta ducked her head. "I actually kicked him into a pillar."

Aaron beamed.

Nicky bit her lip to keep from smiling too much as the rest of the of them agreed that that was the craziest story.

* * *

Coulson sighed as the intel said that Blonsky had been recaptured without losing more men than those killed in the rescue of Betty Ross. He knocked on Fury's door.

"Come in."

Coulson stepped in and closed the door. "Dr. Ross has been retrieved and is with the Avengers."

Fury nodded. "Good. Anything else?"

"Treadstone agent Kirill isn't dead."

Fury looked up at that. "Do any of them actually die?"

"The ones Jason or Aaron are confirmed to have killed seem to stay dead."

Fury smiled. "We'll keep that in mind. That program after Outcome is still active, correct?"

Coulson mentally shuddered at the crap LARX was doing to their guinea pigs. "Yes, Boss."

"Agency stupidity. Keep an eye on it."

"Yes, Boss." Coulson headed out to do his job.


	3. Relearning to Feel

Kirill stood and stared at the house he now lived in. It was odd how Jason had simply accepted him without comment. No fuss about having tried to kill Jason, having killed his woman when they had switched places without him seeing it.

Kirill spread food for the greedy animals to eat as he tried to work out why he'd let himself end up here.

Marta appeared on the porch and waved at him with a smile.

Kirill waved back and patted one of the adults that liked to push her head into his hip. "I fed you."

The alpaca pushed at him again. Kirill sighed and scratched at the base of one of her ears. She made a noise and lolled her head over into his chest. Kirill frowned at the funny feeling deep inside that he'd been feeling more and more now.

Aaron came from the barn with one of the sacks of fiber from the animals. "You alright?"

Kirill backed out of the pen, pushing the big girl to stay with her herd. "Okay."

Aaron hummed and thrust one side of the sack at him. "Here, help me carry this in. Marta wants to try her hand at washing and...batting I think it's called."

Kirill took the offered handle and helped haul it in.

Jason met them at the door and held it open as they came in. "Marta wants to make yarn."

Aaron nodded. "She thinks she'll be able to sell it at that Farmer's Market on the weekends."

Kirill looked up at that. "Spinning, yes?"

Marta tried to take the sack handle from Kirill. "Yes, spinning. First we wash the fiber to get all the dirt and bits out."

Kirill nudged her back with his foot and Aaron helped tip the bag up to dump into Marta's big wash tub. "I relearn spinning."

Jason stuck his head back into the room from the kitchen. "You know how to use a spinning wheel?"

Kirill helped gently swirl the water as Marta added a few drops of soap. "I learn as small boy." He looked up at Jason staring at him. "I was not always killer."

Jason nodded. "Sure."

Aaron pushed Jason out of the room. "We'll figure out dinner."

Marta gave him a weak smile. "He's just not sure how to deal with people."

Kirill nodded. He knew Jason's headaches made it so he could not think beyond his own nose. "Is alright."

Marta frowned, but didn't say anything as they pulled the fiber out of the wash to rinse.

* * *

Aaron kept pushing Jason until they were at the far end of the kitchen. "You said you were alright with him being here."

Jason nodded. "I am."

Aaron touched Jason's hair with his fingertips. "You don't act like it. He's having enough trouble adjusting, Jason."

Jason shrugged. "He...He nearly killed me a couple of times. It isn't that simple to shut it off. Not for me."

Nodding, Aaron turned to pull chicken from the freezer. "You still have trouble with triggers, I know."

Jason sighed. "Lights don't set me off as quickly now."

Aaron nodded as he sat a cast iron pan on the stove. "He never had a reason to think past his orders until after you left him bleeding."

"I know that." Jason handed him the ghee. "I'm trying, Aaron. I don't mean to make him tense."

"Yeah." Aaron pulled down the spices he wanted for the chicken. "I don't think it is just you. He's been staring at nothing more and more."

Jason pulled carrots from the root drawer and brushed off as much of the dirt back into the drawer as he could. He put the carrots in the sink and ran a trickle of water to rinse them off. "Adjusting or falling apart type staring?"

Aaron snorted. "I think he'd be lots more quiet if he were falling apart. I'm pretty sure he's trying to deal with new feelings. I've caught him rubbing his chest and looking bewildered."

Jason looked up from peeling the carrots. "You're the least crippled of us on feelings."

Aaron grunted as he dumped spices into the ghee as it heated. "Just because I'm stubborn. I kept them tamped down so they'd not put me through more training."

"I still have flashbacks." Jason frowned down at the carrot peels. "It...bothers me the people I killed."

"It always will." Aaron sighed. "Jason, you don't remember the whys. You barely remember joining." He added chicken to the pan. "I remember that. I even remember why I decided to do it. You aren't that person now. Even if you could remember why you decided to join. You are different now."

Jason nodded. "Same with Kirill."

Aaron spread the chicken across the pan evenly. "That too."

Jason brought the carrots over to Aaron. "I have...trouble with everything." He leaned against the counter next to the stove. "I can't...touch. I can't just _be_."

Aaron put the carrots in and settled a lid over the pan. He turned and tugged Jason in against him. "You're learning, Jason. You allow touching, yeah? It'll get better."

Jason huffed against Aaron's shoulder. "Better."

* * *

Marta watched Aaron let Jason pull away from the doorway connecting the wash room and the kitchen. She turned and motioned Kirill to come with her.

He fussed with the drying rack for another few moments before heading into the kitchen ahead of her. He didn't even half turn to keep her in his eyesight.

Marta smiled at Aaron as he put dinner on the dinning room table. She might not have convinced any of them out of earth tones on their clothes, but they all allowed her to have bright colors in their dishes and the table settings.

She rubbed her toes up the side of Jason's calf and smiled softly at him when he looked up startled.

Kirill kept his head down and shoveled his food as though it would be taken from him at any moment.

Marta looked at Aaron and nodded at Kirill. Aaron shrugged and piled more on Kirill's plate, reaching over the man's arm to get the serving spoon in.

Kirill jerked back and blinked at Aaron. "What?"

Aaron put more food on Kirill's plate. "Just making sure you have enough."

Kirill looked down at his plate. "Is too much."

Jason shook his head. "You eat until you are full. No less. Alright?"

Kirill nodded and went back to eating with fast neat bites.

* * *

Marta settled next to Jason on the couch as Aaron and Kirill went out to do the last check on the herd before the evening satellite pass chased them inside. "Headache?"

Jason rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Yeah. No worse than usual."

Marta rubbed at the back of Jason's neck. "Consciously relax your muscles for me."

He took several measured breathes and the tension under Marta's fingers settled some.

"Better." Marta eased closer as he dropped his head back against the couch.

"Tired."

"Yes, you are." She rubbed circles on his neck and smiled when he sighed and sank a little further into the couch.

Kirill and Aaron came back in and Marta was proud that Jason only tensed a little as they entered the room.

Aaron dropped to sit on the floor between Marta's feet as Kirill took the armchair.

Marta threaded her fingers of her free hand into Aaron's hair. She watched Kirill studying them from under her eyelashes.

* * *

Kirill pressed his socked feet together as he tried to relax so that Jason would be able to relax more. The three were getting closer. Marta was helping the two men bridge the chasm that stood between Jason and being comfortable.

Kirill still wasn't sure why he felt content with this new life. Even with the annoying animals he was...happy. Kirill cocked his head at the little table in front of the couch and thought about it for a few minutes before carefully setting his feet on the edge of the table.

He glanced at the others, but they didn't seem to care. Aaron was humming under his breath, his head tipped back so Marta could card her fingers through his hair. Jason was leaning towards Marta, his eyes heavy as he kept his hands on his thighs.

Marta smiled prettily at him. "Better."

Kirill grinned back. "_Da_."

* * *

Kirill kept waiting for them to wake him with noises from sex, but they still didn't seem to be doing anything. Nightmare sounds, yes, those woke him, but nothing beyond that. He sat up as a strangled sound of a gasp filtered through the wall.

"Jason."

Marta's voice was quiet, firm.

Kirill listened to her squeak as Jason came awake violently and then stopped right after. She made shushing noises as he cried. Aaron's soft footsteps went across the floor to their bathroom, the water ran, and then footfalls back across.

"Here."

Kirill rubbed his fingers on the edge of his blanket and wondered if he should offer to help. If it would make it worse or better for them. Kirill didn't remember his nightmares. He sometimes found himself waking to Aaron at his feet, patting a sole of his foot with an out stretched wooden spoon.

Aaron never spoke, simply made sure Kirill was awake before retreating from Kirill's room.

Kirill reached down and rubbed his foot where it itched in memory. He stretched back out and listened to them ease Jason back to sleep and let it lull him as well.

* * *

Kirill hung back as the Aaron look-alike with the bow, Clint Barton, came to visit. Kirill went out and let the black and tan female butt him in the hip until he scratched behind her ears.

The others had come with Barton. Some holiday or birthday, something Kirill had never really dealt with before. They were filling the house with their noise and he didn't know what to do with that. Not that it was bad or wrong, just...Kirill sat down on the bench just inside the barn door with the false bottom and several blocks of C-4 in the hidden compartment.

The brash rich one, Stark, wondered in and patted alpacas, checked hoofs, scratched heads, and knew all their names that Marta called them by.

Kirill stayed still expecting Stark to miss him, but Stark simply headed right for him, and sat down next to him.

"Hey, you aren't cold, right? Not around here, yeah? It doesn't get near as cold as you used to deal with, huh?"

Kirill frowned and leaned back. "Is warm here."

Stark nodded. "Yeah." He went quiet for a minute before turning more towards Kirill. "You like it here?"

With a blink, Kirill cocked his head. "Yes."

Stark's eyebrows went up. "You sure? You don't have to lie to make me happy or something. I get that we..." He waved at the house. "...can be a little, okay, a lot, crazy. I just..." Stark sighed. "You seem more unsettled than when you were at my Tower."

Kirill stretched his legs out and crossed his feet at the ankles. "I am...feeling..." He stopped and huffed. He didn't have a word for it. He rubbed at his chest and looked at Stark. "It is not bad."

Stark nodded. "Warmth? General happy with a side of don't ever want it to end?"

Kirill jerked slightly and nodded. "Yes. How..."

Stark smiled. "Awesome." He shrugged. "You look a lot like Bruce was looking the first few weeks into staying with me."

Kirill blinked. "You like Banner."

Stark ducked his head rubbed at the back of his neck. "He's...occupied."

Kirill patted Starks' arm. "Is called...trio? No, no, threesome. Yes?"

Stark laughed and nodded. "Yeah." He shook his head as his smile fell away. "I can't just push into that. I fucked up the last relationship I tried and I don't want to hurt him. Or Betty."

Kirill patted Stark's knee and stood up. "I ask for you." He headed out as behind him Stark squawked and scrambled to follow.

* * *

Bruce kept close to Betty as they all lunged around the living room. Marta was deep in girl talk of some sort with Jane, Thor listening intently.

Aaron and Clint were having throwing popcorn at Coulson and Natasha to see who could get kernels in the weirdest places.

Steve was next to Bruce and giving encouragement to whichever person seemed to need it the most. Jason was tucked in a corner, watching them all with wide eyes.

Bruce looked up as Kirill came back in. He seemed happier, more sure of himself then he had when he'd slipped out and Tony had followed a few minutes later. Tony came in, flushed, and shaking his head.

Kirill dropped down to sit at Betty's feet. He touched Bruce's closer knee. "Happy, yes?"

Steve leaned forward a little to see Kirill as Bruce nodded.

Kirill grinned. "With Betty, is right?"

Betty smiled at him and touched Kirill's shoulder. "Yes, that's right, Kirill."

Kirill nodded and turned towards the game in progress across the room. Bruce kept his eyes on Kirill, but watched Tony in his peripheral vision relax suddenly. Bruce frowned slightly as Kirill's hand wrapped around Bruce's ankle.

It took Bruce a moment to realize that Kirill was using Morse code on his skin.

_...ark is lonely. Hurting now. He wants trio with Bet and you._

Bruce nudged Kirill with his toe. Kirill leaned back against his and Betty's leg. The Morse code started back up.

_All of you should be happy. Hero, yes._

Bruce blinked. He touched Kirill's shoulder and double tapped with one of his fingers. There was no more codes the rest of their visit.

* * *

Kirill followed the Black Widow down the passage in the Hellicarrier. He didn't like it here. It was too much. People trained and running about. Hurrying here and there in ways that made Kirill tense. They came to the tiny office of the Agent.

He ushered them in and sent the Black Widow back out. Agent shut his door and turned towards Kirill.

"Coffee?"

Kirill blinked and sat down in the chair near the desk. "Yes."

Agent put a cup in front of Kirill and sat down at his desk. "Stark is worried you aren't happy where you are now."

Kirill raised his eyebrows as he sipped the coffee. It was good, black and just a touch of cream. "I like the Ranch."

Agent nodded and clasped his hands in front of himself. "You are certain?"

It worried Kirill when Agent worried. "Should I not be?"

"That's not what I'm saying." Agent leaned back and smoothed his tie down. "We could arrange part time work for you if you liked."

Kirill's chest tightened suddenly. "No. I like not killing."

Agent looked him over. "It doesn't have to be killing."

Kirill shook his head. "No. I like animals."

"Alright." Agent swiveled his chair to the right. "This is for you."

Kirill stared at the little book for several moments before taking it and opening it up. It was blank, lined, but nothing on the lines. "What?"

"It's a journal. You can write in it." Agent tapped the spine with his finger. "Not for anyone to look at. Just for you."

Kirill blinked and pulled the journal closer to himself. "Only mine?"

"Yes." Agent pushed a pen across the desk. "You'll want to hide it when the Avengers visit."

"Barton is curious."

"Yes, and we still haven't gotten Thor used to the concept of privacy amongst his teammates."

Kirill snorted. Thor was happy everywhere and loud enough for baby rookies to find in a forest. "I thank you."

Agent shook his head. "No need to thank me."

* * *

Kirill tucked himself up high in the edge of the loft and watched Marta pet the babies. He thumbed through his journal. Looking over the lists and tactics he wrote down first. Then the webs of lines as he worked out what he was feeling, what it meant. After that, in snatches, came him. Thoughts about the female alpaca that liked him, Babel, Marta called her. Then thoughts on his trio to protect. The brokeness of them all.

Kirill pulled the pen from the spine of the book and wrote out what worried him. The flashes of anger, the way everything became not real sometimes. The standing at Marta's back in the Farmer's Market and nearly attacking someone because he'd reached too fast for his change.

Kirill tucked the pen away as Aaron climbed the stairs to the loft. Jason wouldn't come up, his knee was not happy with flights of stairs. Aaron settled near him and looked out over their little world.

"Marta said you were weird at the market."

Kirill huffed and tucked his journal into his jacket. "I almost hurt customer. They..._grab_ at her, but not."

Aaron nodded. "For a moment you thought they were going to attack her?"

"_Da_."

"You didn't though."

Kirill shook his head. "I went still."

"Good." Aaron smiled at him. "Thank you for protecting her."

He blinked. "Yes?"

"Yes." Aaron eased forward until his legs dangled over the edge. "Do you want to sleep with us?"

Kirill watched Marta leave the babies and check the water trough. "You are trio. Three together."

"Yeah, we are. Jason's still working up to more intimate things. We talked about you while you were visiting Coulson."

Kirill nodded. "Agent asked if I was happy."

Aaron followed Kirill's line of sight. "And are you?"

"_Da_. I like..." He waved his hand at it all. "...this."

"Just like it is or would you like to...share? I know we wake you up when Jason or I have a nightmare. I don't like the idea of you being lonely."

Kirill frowned and shrugged. "Lonely is not bad."

Aaron touched Kirill's boot. "The next time we wake you, come in if you want. We'll sleep. Nothing more, yeah?"

Kirill nodded and waited for Aaron to go so he could pull his pen out and try to work out his world in his journal.

* * *

Kirill didn't go the next time or the time after. He listened as Aaron shouted them all awake. Kirill put down his pen and closed his journal. He was going to need a new one soon. He slipped out of his bed and ghosted to their door. He watched as Jason hauled Aaron off the floor as Marta watched from the edge of their bed.

Aaron was shaking.

Kirill stepped in and stilled again as Jason looked up sharply. "Help, yes?"

Jason nodded. "Yes, help would be good."

Kirill reached in and gently batted Aaron's panicky hits. They got him on his feet and Kirill stepped close to let Aaron sag against him as he came clear awake.

Jason motioned Marta over. "I don't want him next to you right now."

She nodded and moved. Kirill frowned until he realized Jason meant Aaron and not him.

Jason slipped into the bed and held his arms out for Kirill to lower Aaron down. Aaron stared at the ceiling and Kirill stood at the edge of the bed, wanting to go, wanting to stay. Needing something he couldn't put a name to.

Jason touched his hand. "Kirill, come to bed."

Kirill blinked and it felt like he started to breathe again, even though he'd not stopped. He formed himself to Aaron's side and stared at the profile of Aaron's face in the moonlight. Jason wrapped his arm across Aaron's chest, fingers just touching Kirill's arm.

Kirill thought he'd not be able go back to sleep, but he blinked awake to dawn light falling across them all.


End file.
